Kenya to tap power from its neighbours after grid connection

A total of 10 wells have been drilled in the area with five currently functional. The others with significant potential for gas production.

Current production is estimated at 70 million standard cubic feet per day.

Most of the gas is used for power generation and the rest as industrial fuel replacing oil.

Plans are under way to drill more wells in the north and west of Songo Songo Island.

With production estimated at 0.9 million standard cubic feet per day, natural gas from the Mnazi Bay is also used for power production for Mtwara and Lindi regions, generating about 4.5 MW of electricity.

Tanzania has an excess of 350 megawatts but it cannot be distributed to other countries because there are no interconnections in the region.

Power pool

Kenya also intends to tap into the southern Africa Power Pool, believed to have excess capacity.

Energy experts say interconnection is the least cost solution for power supply.

In addition, East African countries, along with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Egypt are planning to create a power pool through the aggressive tapping of alternative energy sources under the East African Power Master Plan (EAPP) which has its secretariat in Addis Ababa .

Congo’s Inga River has vast hydro potential enough to meet requirements for all the East and Central African economies, according to experts.